第2682期:Finger Bone Found in Saudi Arabia is 90,000 Years Old

A finger bone is pointing to what scientists are calling a new understanding of how ancient human beings came out of Africa and began settling the rest of the world.手指骨头指出了科学家对古代人如何从非洲出来并开始定居世界其他地区的新理解。The middle bone of an adult’s middle finger was unearthed in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia. It was found in an area called Al Wusta. Testing has dated the fossilized remains to about 90,000 years ago.在沙特阿拉伯的尼古德沙漠中发现了成人中指的中间骨头。 它是在一个名为Al Wusta的地区发现的。 测试已将化石遗物的历史记录到大约900，000年前。Researchers reported that it is the oldest Homo sapiens fossil ever found outside of Africa and the eastern Mediterranean Levant area. They also said it is the first human fossil from the Arabian peninsula.研究人员报告说，这是在非洲和地中海东部黎凡特地区发现的最古老的智人化石。 他们还说，这是阿拉伯半岛的第一个人类化石。While the Nefud Desert is now a sea of sand, it was green when this Homo sapiens lived. The researchers say the area was once a grasslands, filled with wildlife, near a freshwater lake.虽然Nefud沙漠现在是沙滩，但当这种同性恋狂人居住时，它是绿色的。 研究人员说，该地区曾经是一个淡水湖附近的草原，里面充满了野生动植物。Our human ancestors first appeared in Africa about 300,000 years ago. Scientists once thought Homo sapiens left Africa in a single, fast migration some 60,000 years ago. It was thought they moved along coastal areas, eating fish and other sea creatures, said Michael Petraglia. He is an anthropologist with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.我们的人类祖先大约30万年前首次出现在非洲。 科学家曾经以为同性恋者在大约60，000年前的一次快速移民中离开了非洲。 迈克尔·佩特拉格利亚（Michael Petraglia）说，人们认为他们沿着沿海地区搬进了沿海地区，吃鱼和其他海洋生物。 他是德国马克斯·普朗克人类历史科学学院的人类学家。This fossil bone, measuring 3.2 centimeters from end to end, suggests our species left Africa much earlier.这种化石骨的末端为3.2厘米，这表明我们的物种更早地离开了非洲。Petraglia explained that the fossil supports the idea that Homo sapiens did not move all at one time, but slowly and over many years. The discovery also shows these people were moving across the interior of the land, not just along the coastline, he added.Petraglia解释说，化石支持了Homo Sapiens一次没有移动的观念，而是在慢慢地和多年的时间里移动。 他补充说，这一发现还表明，这些人正在遍布土地内部，而不仅仅是海岸线。Near the fossil finger, scientists also discovered many animal fossils, University of Oxford archeologist Huw Groucutt said. Bite marks on fossilized bones showed that meat-eaters lived in the area.牛津大学考古学家Huw Groucutt说，在化石手指附近，科学家还发现了许多动物化石。 化石骨骼上的咬痕表明，肉食者生活在该地区。Stone tools that hunter-gatherers used also were found.还发现了猎人采集者使用的石材工具。“The big question now is what became of the ancestors of the population to which the Al Wusta human belonged,” Groucutt said.格鲁库特说：“现在最大的问题是，艾尔·沃斯塔（Al Wusta）人类所属的人口的祖先成了什么。”“We know that shortly after they lived, the rains failed and the area dried up. Did this population die out? Did it survive further south in Arabia?” Groucutt asked. He noted that the drying environment many have pushed them into Eurasia.“我们知道，在他们居住后不久，降雨失败了，该地区枯竭了。这个人口死亡了吗？它在阿拉伯南部进一步生存吗？” 格鲁卡特问。 他指出，许多人将它们推向欧亚大陆的干燥环境。A report on the findings was published in the magazine Nature Ecology and Evolution.有关发现的报告发表在《自然生态与进化》杂志上。